


Cold Nostalgia

by constantconfusion14



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Childhood Friends AU, Gen, mlwriter'sguildseptevents2020, platonic ninette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26435323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constantconfusion14/pseuds/constantconfusion14
Summary: Being locked in freezing temperatures is less than ideal. Luckily, though, Marinette has an old friend to keep her warm.Written for prompt #12: "Do you maybe think, in retrospect, this was a terrible idea?"
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 5
Kudos: 58
Collections: Miraculous Writer's Guild September Event 2020





	Cold Nostalgia

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the ML Writer's Guild September Event! Huge thanks to marvelousmsmol, epcot97 and MalcolmReynolds for beta reading for me!

For once in her life, something was easy. 

Mme. Bustier’s latest project had the class broken up into groups of four and studying a piece of France’s history. Not only was Marinette able to choose her own group members (leaving her with Alya, Nino and Adrien (her _boyfriend!_ )) but they’d also received ‘cuisine’ as their prompt. Researching cuisine in the culinary capital of the world with the love of her life and two best friends? Maybe her Ladybug luck was finally leaking into her civilian life. 

Even better news was Mme. Cesaire’s willingness to help the kids out. She had a tasting organized for a wealthy couple who was looking to host their wedding at Le Grand Paris. Typically, the restaurant would’ve been closed on a Monday, but they’d made a small exception for these particular people (Mayor Bourgeois always made exceptions for money). 

Regardless, Marinette was excited to practically have a commercial kitchen and executive chef all to themselves for the evening. While she prepared the meals, Mme. Cesaire glady explained each dish, the locally sourced food she used, provided some history she knew off the top of her head and even let the kids help out in some instances (Alya and Marinette more so than Nino or Adrien). After a single afternoon, the majority of the project was nearly complete. For once, Marinette was able to sigh a breath of relief. Checking things off her to-do list was always a great feeling. 

Mme. Cesaire excused herself, pushing out a cart of ingredients out to the showing room. She’d finish the meals in front of the clients and accompany the food with a wine tasting as well. Afterwards, she promised to do something similar for the children with any leftover food and non-alcoholic beverages. 

In terms of school projects, it was as if Marinette had hit the jackpot.

“Dudes, is it just me, or is this like, the best research project ever?” Nino dried his hands off with a paper towel and shut off the tiny sink he was standing at. He threw out his now-wet towel and then walked over to the others, leaning up against a nearby door frame. 

Adrien had his head buried in his clipboard, furiously scribbling something down. “Well, I don’t have as much experience as you guys, but it’s definitely the best group project I’ve been a part of so far.” He didn’t look up when he spoke. “But...we still gotta put all this info into a slideshow and then plug it into a formal essay.”

Everyone groaned. Alya reached over and pulled the clipboard out of his hands. He protested but the redhead cut him off quickly. “Oh, come on Sunshine, stop being a buzzkill.” Marinette and Nino chuckled at the deadpan look he gave her. Then Alya reached over, giving the clipboard to Marinette. “Here, put this somewhere Mr. Works-A-Lot won’t find it. We’ve got at least an hour of time to kill before my mom is done. If we work on the project now, we lose an excuse to drag you out of your mansion to hang out with us later in the week. Besides, none of us have our laptops with us. And...I have a much better idea.” A smile spread across her face and her eyes glinted with something Marinette had learned to fear. 

The raven-haired girl groaned. “Uh oh, I know that look. What’re you planning?”

Alya chuckled guilty as she walked over and threw her arm over her boyfriend’s shoulder. Nino physically winced. “Nu-uh. ‘Nette’s right. Nothing good comes from that smirk.”

She held her palms up, feigning temporary surrender. “I admit that time at that juice parlor was not my best idea-” 

“Alya, Nino’s not even allowed _in_ that store anymore.” Marinette scoffed. 

Adrien chuckled. “But the story you guys came back with was _hilarious_. I, for one, would like to hear Alya’s idea.” Marinette inwardly shook her head. Her boyfriend had a lot to learn about encouraging nefarious acts from nefarious people. 

Alya smiled. “ _Thank_ you, Adrien. All I’m suggesting is a round of Hide-and-Go-Seek. In a kitchen this large? There are bound to be great hiding places. Besides, it would easily kill time.” She smiled innocently. Paired with her child-like game suggestion, Marinette _almost_ fell for it.

Nino did. “Ehhhhh, you’re still shady, but I’ll admit. It sounds like fun. It’s been a while since I’ve played.” 

Adrien supported his decision, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “I’ve actually...never officially played Hide-and-Go-Seek? So I’m down.”

Marinette looked up at her boyfriend with shock. “Well, I guess that settles it.” She spoke aloud against her own will. “We can’t deprive him of his first game of hide-and-seek.” 

Alya dramatically pumped her fist in the air. “Yes! Ok, I’ll even be the first seeker, since it was my idea. I’ll give you guys ‘til 100 to hide. After that, you’re all fair game.” She whipped around, facing the wall. Covering her eyes with her hands, she began counting. 

A familiar sense of panic instantly descended over Marinette. Although it had been years since she’d played a proper game of hide and seek, this feeling would stick with her forever. Adrenaline paired with her innate competitiveness created an awfully childish mix of emotions that would be her salvation. Immediately, she bolted out of the room in an act of self-preservation.

She briefly saw Nino running the other direction, leaving Adrien alone. “Wait!” He called out. “What do I do!?”

“Everyone for themselves!” Marinette called back, not staying by long enough to hear him grumble out a response. 

Although it was a large kitchen, Marinette quickly realized there was a lack of actual hiding places. She tried to squirm behind a large food warmer, but decided against it once she saw the mass of wires tucked near it. “Alright then, Tikki,” She opened her purse just enough to whisper to the kwami. “Time to up our strategy.” She smirked and Tikki smiled back, encouraging her antics. Instead of sliding behind the machinery, Marinette hung her purse off the corner of it, positioning it so it just barely poked out from behind it.

Marinette spoke quietly. “You stay with the purse, okay? Make it move to throw Alya off my scent.” Tikki smiled in affirmation before shoo-ing Marinette further down the hallway. Although the kwami of creation was more responsible than her counterpart, even she wasn’t above childish games. Besides, if an akuma were suddenly to arise, Marinette wouldn’t be far away. 

The girl silently sneaked through a back hallway but quickly found herself back in the center room where Alya stood, still counting. “75...76...77…” Marinette’s internal panic skyrocketed when she realized her time was running out. 

She scanned her eyes around the room again looking for somewhere to hide and easily spotted Adrien squatting behind a chest freezer. _Oh, come on, kitty._ Her own voice echoed through her head. _You’re a hero of Paris and_ that’s _the best you can come up with?_ She started to move to help right his wrong, but another arm caught her. 

Nino looked sadly at his best friend. “You gotta leave him behind, ‘Nette. There are sacrifices in war. He has to learn that the hard way.” His face was mournful, but his mind was made up. Marinette glanced once more at her poor boyfriend before nodding determinedly. _Sorry, Chaton_. 

Nino smiled widely and led her away, into a new corridor filled with dry stock and what appeared to be a wall made of metal. Three doors were cut into the hammered steel and Marinette instantly recognized them as freezers. She stopped instantly as Nino approached one with an open lock lazily hanging off the handle on it. 

“Ohhhhh no you don’t” She wriggled her arm free of his grasp. 

“Oh, come on! She’ll never think to look in here! It’s the perfect hiding place! The doors blend in with the wall and we can even position this,” he reached out and fiddled with the lock on the handle, “to make her think it’s actually locked. See?” He pulled away and Marinette agreed that the door did actually look fastened. Had _she_ been seeking, she would’ve walked right past. 

But reason was stronger. “It’s below freezing in there, Nino!”

“We only have to stay in here long enough for Alya to give up and accept defeat. I’ve played hide and seek with her before. It really doesn’t take long for her to get frustrated.”

“99...100!” Alya’s voice confidently cried out.

The D.J.’s eyes went wide with panic. “Please??”

If anyone ever asked Marinette what her fatal flaws were, she would definitely have to admit competitiveness would fall on the list. The freezer wasn’t ideal, but it _was_ a great hiding place. Besides, she was the literal heroine of Paris. Should anything go wrong, she’d be able to get them out of it for sure.

Marinette reached out, swinging the door open with an immense amount of force. “Go!” she aggressively whispered at Nino. He smiled like a five year old who’d been given a massive lollipop and rushed inside. Marinette slipped in behind him. 

Immediately the freezing temperature ripped the air out of her lungs. She coughed slightly but turned her attention back to the task at hand and pulled the door closed behind her. Right before it shut completely, she reached her hand out and blindly fiddled with the lock. She clipped it through what felt like the slot of the door handle. Ever so slightly, she pushed the lock into itself to give every appearance that it was, in fact, fastened. Then she pulled the door closed the rest of the way. 

“Marinette, wait! Don’t-” 

_Click_. 

Why did that sound so out of place? Marinette slowly turned to look at Nino, his eyes wide with dread. 

It...it was fine. That was just a normal click. It just meant the door had sealed completely, trapping all this freezing air inside with them…

Nino rushed past her, slamming his body into the door like a battering ram.

It didn’t budge. 

Marinette was literally frozen in place as the realization dawned on her. Nino rammed into the door again. The loud clang snapped her back into reality and she joined him for the fourth and fifth attempts at pushing the door open. After the sixth time, Nino grabbed his shoulder and stepped away, wincing. “Oh, this is _bad_. This is bad, bad, bad. Like, really really bad.”

Tikki! Marinette let out a sigh of relief as she reached down for her purse. The kwami would be able to phase through and unlock the door for them! But Marinette’s hand was only met with cold air. Though her heart had just climbed back into its normal position, the memory of her leaving Tikki with her purse caused the vital organ to fall right back into her stomach. She was going to be sick. 

Pure desperation pushed Marinette back towards the door again. She banged both hands on it like a child having a temper tantrum after being locked in their room. “HELP!” She cried, her voice breaking slightly. “PLEASE! ADRIEN! ALYA! HELP!”

Her cries went unanswered. 

After what must’ve been a few minutes, Nino had to pull her away from the door. “You’re just gonna bruise your hands or something dude, save your energy.” He held up his phone for her to see and shook it slightly. “I’ve got no signal in here, either. I think we’re just gonna have to wait it out unfortunately. They’ll find us eventually” He let out a sigh that immediately condensed into fog. It hovered in the air between them like a guilty jury verdict. 

Marinette checked her phone quickly, but it yielded the same result. No signal. She brought her hands up around her arms and shivered. It was _freezing_. 

“Okay...maybe there’s a temperature gauge in here? I’m sure the restaurant will understand if we change it to above freezing for a few minutes.”

Nino was already swiveling his head around to look for something of that nature. “Yeah, yeah that’s a good idea.” Unfortunately, there was no internal thermostat for them to control, but Nino did happen to find a switch to turn off the fan. It didn’t make much of a difference, but it was enough to reduce her panic slightly. 

“Ugh,” Nino spat as he noticed a tiny thermometer perched on one of the shelves. “-24°C?? That doesn’t make me feel better.” He glanced apprehensively at Marinette. “How long until hypothermia sets in at these temperatures?”

Marinette shook her head, sassily making the ‘I don’t know’ sound. “Eventually?”

Nino scoffed. “Well thanks, t-that h-helps.” Marinette looked up at him when he stuttered. They were both shivering, but Nino was shivering _a lot_ more than she was. His thin, short sleeved shirt was definitely not faring well against the cold. At least Marinette had a light jacket on. Any sort of extra protection was gladly welcomed given the current predicament. 

“Here,” she started and then pushed some boxes around to clear a space for the two of them. The freezer was smaller and obviously it must’ve been some sort of backup for the chefs. Two metal shelving units bordered the sides, leaving a small aisle that backed directly up to the metal wall. Marinette emptied a few boxes and then broke them down into flat sheets. She placed one on the floor and one against the wall, creating a cardboard couch of somesort. Then she sat down and patted the space next to her. 

Nino sent her a questioning glance, but joined her regardless. He sat with his back against the cardboard and pulled his knees up to his chest. Marinette shrugged her jacket off as he sat down next to her. Her intention was to semi-cover both of them with the small garment, but the half-meter gap he left in between them was _not_ helping the situation. 

She sighed slightly before scooting closer, tucking her right shoulder right underneath his arm. Nino pulled back for a second but then fell into her body heat. She could feel him starting to shiver violently. “S-sorry to make it awkward and all, but we’re gonna have to push our c-comfort zones for a little bit here.” Great, now her teeth were starting to chatter, too. But despite it, Marinette offered her kindest smile and Nino returned it. 

She laid her jacket over the two of them, only covering each of their arms and a bit of her own shoulder. She then grabbed the last collapsed box she had and laid it over them. It covered them much more than her jacket, but brought much less warmth. For a few silent minutes, they just sat there, focusing all their energy on ignoring how desperately _cold_ they both were becoming. 

But attempting to ignore it was only making her more aware. Already, Marinette was starting to lose feeling in her toes. She’d pulled her feet closer up to her body, but her open flats were spectacularly failing her. Her left arm was covered in goosebumps and her ears were starting to hurt from how frozen they were. She brought her hands up to her head and used her palms to cover her ears. 

Nino noticed her movement and looked over to see what the problem was. He raised an eyebrow at her. 

“I sh-should’ve dressed better for the weather,” she chattered out, smiling sarcastically. 

With a pathetic smirk, Nino took the headphones off his neck and gingerly reached over to clamp them over Marinette’s ears. “Better?” he asked as he tucked the top of his own ears into his cap. 

The answer was an overwhelming _yes_. His body warmth must’ve leaked into the fabric of the headphones because her ears were instantly satisfied with the change of temperature. But after seeing the poor coverage Nino was getting, Marinette switched things up a bit. 

She undid her pigtails, allowing her hair to fall around her shoulders and cover her ears. Then she reached over, took Nino’s cap and replaced it with his headphones. She gently snapped them over his ears and placed his large cap on her smaller head. It easily covered her ears and along with her hair, it was the closest she could possibly get to a winter hat in this situation. “Better.” She nodded determinedly and sunk her arm back into his side for warmth. He followed suit and they sat in silence for a while, neither of them having anything decent to say.

Marinette silently cursed her miraculous for being so useless in a time like this. If only she hadn’t left Tikki behind. She should’ve learned a while ago to _never_ let the earrings or Tikki get too far away from her. It always came back to bite her in the end. 

But then again, Marinette should’ve been smart enough to not hide and accidentally lock herself in an industrial freezer. She chuckled slightly in disbelief at her own stupidity, a puff of air materializing in front of her mouth. 

Nino glanced over at her skeptically. “What?” He questioned. The sound of his chattering teeth filled the small space.

“D-do you think maybe, i-in retrospect, this was a _t-terrible_ idea?” Marinette huffed out another laugh, causing more frozen fog in the air. 

Nino shifted his shoulders against her slightly and Marinette never thought she’d enjoy the hot feel of friction so much in her life. “I-I’m gonna say the idea was s-solid. It was the execution that could’ve u-used some improvement.

Marinette nudged him slightly with her shoulder, partly for the insult, partly for the friction and partly to be closer to him. She’d never realized how _warm_ Nino was. “O-oh yeah? Well I’d l-like to see you try to blindly fake-lock a d-door and do better.”

To her surprise, Nino actually shifted against her nudge and moved his arm over her shoulders. He laid his left hand over her exposed left arm and pulled her closer into him. Marinette let loose a small sound of shock at the cheesy arm movement. Everything inside her screamed _wrong_ because this was intimate and they were both in relationships with _other people_. But she knew his intentions were innocent and just an attempt to keep them warm. Besides, she’d known Nino forever. When they were just kids, she’d created more contact when she would tackle him during games of tag. During playdates, they’d fallen asleep next to each other while watching cartoons more than a few times. This closeness was nothing new. 

But it _felt_ new for some reason. Marinette was starting to realize how much distance had developed between her and Nino. She shivered suddenly, but didn’t know if it was from the cold of the freezer or the cold of a distance she’d never wanted between her and her friend. 

“Yeah, s-sure. Tell yourself whatever you need to to make yourself f-feel better. But don’t forget that time y-you decided to hide in the dumpster behind your bakery, like, 10 minutes b-before the garbage men showed up to empty it.” He made a short wheezing sound as he laughed, accidentally pulling Marinette closer into him as his muscles contracted. 

She didn’t mind the extra warmth their close proximity provided. “Ok, I w-was _eight_!” She defended herself hopelessly. 

“Pshaw! You were l-like, _twelve!_ Besides, you’ve always called yourself mature for your age. So y-you can’t use that excuse.” 

“I _am_ mature for my age, but I’m g-gonna keep using that excuse and y-you can’t stop me.” Marinette sassily huffed out her response before the room fell to silence for a few, light moments. She tilted her head slightly to look at Nino’s face and caught a small, nostalgic smile.

He let loose a small chuckle. “Ah man, I miss all the fun times we had as kids.”

And Marinette did, too. She missed that one time her father had futilely attempted to teach her and Nino how to make macarons. She missed playing tag with Nino in the park across from her house and jumping in the fountain every chance they got just to be pulled out again by a parent. She missed walks through the shopping districts of Paris where the kids would marvel at the toy stores as if they held all the answers in life. Marinette missed being a kid. And she missed being a kid with Nino. 

“Yeah, but we had to g-grow up on each other.” It had been meant as a lighthearted comment, but Marinette’s voice betrayed her as she thought about just how much her ‘rebel teenage years’ had been cut down by the machete of super hero responsibility. 

Now, fun baking lessons had been replaced with food-based akumas. Childish games of tag were now very real ‘run for your life’ situations on the weekly. And the answers to life? Apparently those were in Tibet and _not_ in the toy store down the street. 

Nino scoffed. “Grow up? We’re like, 15 ‘Nette. We’re not even a q-quarter of the way through our lives.”

That was the logical assumption for a normal person. But a superhero? “First off,” she started before she could stop herself. “I might be well over h-half way through my life and not even know it-”

“Geez, dudette, talk about being pessimistic.”

“But secondly, Paris has freaking _superheroes_ and _su-supervillains_ now. Isn’t that a little crazy? We live in a world wh-where we can’t let ourselves feel our emotions in fear of becoming akumatized. And that...that scares me.” Marinette hadn’t admitted that to anyone, not even Tikki. But talking with Nino just felt so natural. It felt comfortable and familiar and _warm_. She noticed herself snuggling deeper into his side. Shocked at her own movements, she tried to pull away, but he held her tightly as if physically protecting her from her fears.

Of _course_ he was protecting her. Nino was, in his heart, the wielder of the turtle miraculous. Protection was a fundamental aspect of his character both as a person and as a superhero. Marinette silently chided herself. Here she was, complaining about superheroes and villains and the crazy world when she’d purposely put the exact same responsibility on her friend. And worst of all, now Hawkmoth _knew_ Nino’s identity. He knew where to find him, who his friends and family members were. She’d put him in direct danger because _she_ hadn’t been strong enough to stop Anazi or Miracle Queen. And that was selfish. 

Her toes were now beyond numb. Despite her attempts to cover her legs, her exposed ankles felt as if someone were making a poor attempt of acupuncture. The feeling of pin pricks was slowly creeping up her body, moving to her thighs and threatening to infiltrate her core. The only thing stopping it from overcoming her completely was Nino’s warm embrace. 

Once again, he was protecting her. He was pushing down his own insecurities to take care of hers first.

He spoke up, after allowing her weak statement of fear to settle in the small freezer. Although subtle, Marinette recognized a change in his voice, almost like a false bravado. If her eyes had been closed, she probably would’ve assumed it was Carapace speaking rather than Nino. “Ya know, it’s o-okay to let yourself feel when you need to. Buh-Bottling emotions up is like, the _worst_ way to d-deal with them. Whenever life is too much for you, just call me over or something. I’m more than happy to let you vent to me. And I’ll k-keep watch out for akumas, too. You’re not getting possessed by Mr. Freaky Moth-Man on my watch.”

She looked up to meet his tender amber eyes glowing back at her. Within a single instant, she felt the heat of her parents bakery and the warmth of the sun shining down on her as they played tag in the park. Nino’s gaze reminded her of the cozy safety of childhood. For a moment, she forgot the cold air around her and simply melted in his presence. 

Reacting solely to the heat memory, her face tinged red in a blush and she quickly looked away to prevent Nino from getting the wrong impression. She managed a response to his statement, stuttering _only_ because her teeth were clacking from the cold. “O-okay. Say I just release all my b-baggage on you. So there I am, s-sobbing my eyes out and wallowing in e-endless self-pity. What do you do when the ak-kuma shows up?”

Without a second of hesitation, he snorted and replied confidently. “Ha, okay. _If_ one shows up, I’ll, idk, lay down some beats th-that are so fresh, the akuma will j-just _become_ purified or something.” 

Marinette released a heavy, incredulous breath out of her nose. The air in front of her immediately condensed and fell back onto her skin. A chuckle attempted to follow suit but came out as more of a chitter as her teeth clanged together and prevented the laugh from fully bubbling out. 

Nino leaned forward, accidentally shifting her closer to him as he leaned over to determine if her strange sounds were coming from a place of happiness or anxiety. The smile split across her face gave him all the encouragement he needed to continue his antics. 

“I mean, there _have_ to be o-others ways to purify an akuma, r-right? Like, I bet if Chat Noir p-put on his best kitty-cat eyes and went, ‘Nya,’” Nino put his free right hand up by his face and curled his finger over his palm slightly, moving it forward against his cheek as he pursed his lips. But as soon as the sound effect fell from his lips, he transitioned back into his regular tone. “Hawkmoth would just be forced to immediately give up and surrender.”

Marinette held her stomach tightly because, unbeknownst to Nino, Chat had done that _exact_ move before. It had been absolutely dreadful, but maybe Nino was right. Maybe it was horrible enough to force Hawkmoth’s defeat. The idea was only making her laugh harder. 

Only more encouraged, Nino kept going. “The other h-heroes have their own methods too! Like, if Rena plays a horrible enough rendition of the Jurassic P-Park theme on her flute it’s an instant K.O. for the akuma. Or! Carapace can j-just stare it down. When it gets too close, he picks up his shield, s-slams it down and screams ‘You _shall not_ Pass!” At that point, the ak-kuma’s only option will be to turn around and g-go back to Hawk-butt.” His breath was light and airy and he spoke his words as if they were rice cakes. The more he talked, the easier it became for Marinette to forget how cold she was.

Unfortunately, the more he spoke, the more difficult it became for Marinette to breathe. By the time he got to Queen Bee’s method of quoting _The Bee Movie_ at it, Marinette was full out wheezing. Her awful sounds of bliss echoed against their small surroundings, slamming harshly into each of the metal walls. It was a cacophony of ecstasy as Nino joined in with her. 

“S-stop it!” Marinette hopelessly sputtered out. “My t-tears are f-freezing to my f-faaaceee!” Her last word was drawn out, partially because her mouth was moving slower (thanks to the cold) but partially because she immediately fell back into another bout of laughter. 

Together the two fell against each other, cackling at just how weak an akuma was in the presence of pure elation and fun. Surely, with such flawless tactics, Marinette would never have to worry about becoming akumatized. 

_Bang! Bang!_

“Marinette???? NINO???” A familiar voice cried their names as he slammed against the locked door. 

Blue and amber eyes grew wide, staring at each other before they launched out of their seated positions and rammed into the opposite side of the freezer. 

“ _A_ _DRIEN!_ Dude! Help us g-get out! Break the lock or- _”_

A deafening slamming sound followed by a groan was the instant response. 

“B-bro! It swings outwards! _Why_ w-would you run into it?” Nino cried out to his best friend, his face conveying the exact same emotion of endearing befuddlement as his tone of voice.

“Adrien!” Another voice rippled from the outside. “What are you-”

“ _ALYA!_ ” Marinette shrieked, pounding on the door. “Get the key! Please! We-we’re freez-zing in here!”

_"What?_ ” Came the response before a violent jingling reverberated through the metal door. 

“Hold on, I’m going to get help!” Footsteps Marinette assumed to be Adriens faded away. She had a feeling a particular superhero would show up in his place in a few, short moments. 

“You morons hid in the freezer?” Alya’s sharply terrified voice cut through Marinette like an earring through a partially pierced ear. There was another jingle as she assumed Alya took a closer look at the lock. “How? How did you guys even lock this from the inside? That’s gotta be the worst luck I’ve ever seen in my life!”

Marinette rolled her eyes. For supposedly being the epitome of good luck, she too often experienced the opposite when not transformed. 

“N-Nino’s idea!” She called out to her friend.

At the exact same time, Nino cried out “Blame M-Mari!”

A loud, clacking drew nearer at a very fast pace and Marinette was immediately able to place the sound. She rolled her eyes and reached out for Nino’s hand. He looked over at her when she did so. “You m-might wanna s-step back.”

Nino furrowed his eyebrows at her. “What is-?”

“What the...How-” Alya’s voiced her own concerns

“Hey! Heard you needed something destroyed? Cataclysm!” A small sound of decay followed his words. And then the freezer door was ripped open to reveal a terrified Chat Noir and a very confused Alya. 

Balmy, humid air rushed over Marinette and she just wanted to melt into a puddle of goo against the tile floor. Never had she ever taken room temperature for granted before. But now that room temperature wasn’t below freezing, she was suddenly grateful to be experiencing a more tepid degree. 

The only part of her body that felt unchanged was, strangely, her hand. She still gripped Nino’s fingers tightly and he wrapped his around hers in return. Despite the rush of a much warmer climate, her hand felt as if it had been warm the entire time. 

In the following moments, Marinette and Nino received bear hugs from Chat Noir, Alya and eventually Adrien who conveniently returned once the cat hero had disappeared. Their friends provided the two popsicles with jackets and catering linens to act as blankets in a desperate attempt to warm them back up to a safe temperature. 

Adrien made sure to return Marinette’s purse he found hanging off one of the warmers. Apparently, her decoy had worked a little _too_ well and had sent Adrien and Alya on a wild goose chase on the opposite side of the kitchen for longer than they’d like to admit. As he handed her purse back to Marinette, Adrien subtly opened it, allowing Tikki’s concerned blue orbs to meet her owner’s. The kwami looked over her chosen and then smiled, happy she was okay.

But _man_. Marinette knew the moment she was alone, Tikki was going to have some choice words to share. For now, though, her main focus was getting back to a non-hypothermic temperature as she huddled between her friends. Adrien and Alya were on the outside, squishing the two frozen teens in the middle. 

Marinette welcomed the heat surrounding her body in place of the frigid, unforgiving cold as she finally felt her skin start to defrost. But the still-frozen body next to her was shivering aggressively. Despite leaning into her boyfriend, Marinette moved closer to Nino, pulling Adrien with her. The blonde happily obliged and wrapped his arm around both of their shoulders, allowing Nino to siphon off some of his sunshine heat as well. Adrien’s tight embrace was warming Marinette’s outside and she relaxed into him, knowing his heat would seep into her veins. But when Marinette looked up at Nino, shivering and chattering in his table-cloth, he smiled tenderly at her and she couldn’t help but smile back.

Instantly, her icy blood thawed to an amber warmth.


End file.
